At just 17 years old, Indian archer Sheetal Devi missed the world record at the Paris Paralympics. She is battling the rare congenital disease, Phocomelia. This is her debut at the Paralympics, but her performance won hearts in the qualifying round.
Paris Paralympics 2024: Indian archer Sheetal Devi competed in the Paris Paralympics on Thursday (August 29). She gave an impressive performance in her debut Paralympics but missed setting a world record. Sheetal is just 17 years old. In the women’s individual compound competition, India’s armless (without arms) para-athlete Sheetal Devi received widespread praise for her remarkable performance. She suffers from the congenital condition Phocomelia and has no arms, yet her performance in recent years has been outstanding.
Sheetal participated in the ranking round, breaking both the Para Games and world records, scoring 703 points. However, in the final shot of the qualification round, her competitor surpassed her. Turkey’s Oznur Girdik Kur set a world record in the ranking round with 704 points. Sheetal’s score surpassed the previous world record of 698 points, set earlier this month by Great Britain’s Phoebe Pine Peterson.
Both of these athletes broke the previous records set by Jessica Stratton (694 points in the Para Games) and Phoebe Patterson (698 points in the World Record) and qualified for the Round of 32. The previous record holder, Peterson, finished in seventh place with 688 points, which was her best attempt of the season.
